NoLuck

Quad cab only on the Dodge. I don't really know whats gonna happen between now and then Cricket. Heck I may have to leave Wednesday for all I know. If I do come down it will depend on water levels and such. Cya

Cricket it looks like you had a pretty good day too. I was down Saturday and fished till the whistle. I only saw a few guys having success while I was there. From what I saw you had to be deep like almost on the bottom or fishing a dry to the few selective fish that were feeding on top. I stopped at Readings on the way out and he said he didn't hear from too many people that were having much luck. I struggled at first till I got down deep to them. I landed a rainbow that was near 3.5lbs and I almost landed one that was probably close to 6lbs. The old 3wt had a pretty good bend in it trying to land that one. Guess I should have had the 5wt. Depending on what happens this week I may be down next weekend. I was on my way to Hoover dam this morning when I blew the motor in my work truck OUCH!!! I made it to the Richland exit #150. My boss is looking for a used Dodge dually diesel with a manual trans with a 5.9 Cummins 24 Valve if you happen to know of one. 2 Wheel drive only which is pretty hard to find with a decent amount of miles. Cya, Rich

Hey Jerry, I may be down Saturday for some C&R action. How about it??? I'm headed to NV on Monday so I need to do some fishing before I hit the road. Cya, Rich

Zach, Last year during C&R I did the best of all year with dry flies. Think small most of the time unless you see something that they are taking that is bigger. Hopefully the water gets back down a little and clears up so dry fly fishing gets good again. Rich

I think it was nearly 5 ft deep, but I can't tell for sure because of the gauge reading on the USGS website. Either way its been flushed out pretty good. Maybe the winter season will not have all those dead fish and skins laying around in the shallow water all winter now. If the water is pretty dingy its time to tie up some Y2K's.

Hey Folks, Looks like Bennett took a pretty good rise in water level again. BrittsnBirds is going to have to deal with it on Weds. Just when dry fly fishing was starting to get good too. Maybe it will go back down as fast as it went up. I'm headed to Pueblo, CO in the morning for a couple of weeks so maybe it'll be back to normal when I get back. Pat, I feel for you brother. Cya later, Rich

FFM, It was nice to meet you also. I didn't catch a ton of fish in the morning but, I caught enough to stay interested. I agree that the size of the fish and the numbers of fish are pretty much back to normal. The highbank hole is definitely different than it was before all the floods. It still holds quite a few fish though, and they still are eager to bite a good presentation. After you headed out FFM I went up to zone 1 at the last part of the island and caught a ton of nice fish on a flo pink brassie after I sharpened the cheap hook so it would catch fish. When it started pouring down rain it seemed like the bite went from a subtle bite to a hammer bite. I fished in the torential down pour till almost time for the whistle to blow. All my stuff was soaked so bad it didn't dry out till I got home last night and hung it up. Looks like I may not get back down till C&R season now since its bowseason. My camper is at my buddies house to dry out and they are calling for rain till Thursday. I was planning on hauling it up to Mark Twain lake but, I couldn't put it away wet. Pat, Maybe when I make the big money I can buy a rig like yours so I won't have to worry about rain. LOL Of course then I'll need a bigger truck too. Cya Guys, Rich

I would love to make it but, I got a funny feeling I'm going to be at Hoover dam from late November till about mid March. We are talking about maybe flying home for the holidays though so I still might make it. Maybe I can get some good luck and be there for a change.

I should be there Friday morning and hopefully I can find a spot in campground in #5 till Sunday morning. FFM look me up I'll be in Zone 2 probably around the highbank hole. I drive a white Ranger ext. cab EDGE pick up. I then will take my camper from there up to Mark Twain lake to use for Bowseason. Cya, Rich

I don't think Phil is pointing at the POTUS in particular. I believe that he is referencing politicians in general. I have yet to see an honest politician. Bottom line is that the tourism dollar is probably more of a tax cow than the energy created by the dam.

I'm headed out in about 20 mins. I'll be at site #410 stop by if you are there.. Cya, Rich

Hey Dennis, Long time no see. We will have to get together sometime before the end of September. I have been leaving my pop-up down there so I can use it there. As soon as bow season rolls around I will haul it back home to use for hunting. Maybe we can round up the gang for a little get together again. Cya later, Rich

Anyone else headed down the weekend of the 21st?? I actually got reservations in campground #4 Cyaalll later, Rich

Hey Pat, Sounds like a crowded but good trip. I really wanted to get down last weekend but I had to work Saturday morning from 5am till 11:30am. The paychecks have been nice though. I just cannot believe that you have to get there on a Weds or Thurs to get a decent camp spot. I guess it's time to start looking for some place close to Bennett that has elec hookup and a decent shaded spot. Did you try an orange CB?? Also my P&P is the same as yours. I just have a variant without the pearl tinsel and wrapped in v-rib instead of wire. Hey PC, The highbank hole has changed somewhat this year. That deeper hole that used to be where the 2 poles on down has been filled in somewhat. Also, the hole before the bend after the creek inlet filled in some too. Cya guys, Rich

Last Sunday I was fishing the hole between the dam and the bridge while two older fellas were digging into their vest pockets getting out some type of soft bait that was covered in a heavy garlic smell. I was downwind of them and it was super strong smelling. This was going on right in front of the hatchery office no less. The guys even took out the jar and unscrewed the lid and was putting it on while holding it close to them so no one could see what they were doing. Then when they caught a fish they would sit and look back at the hatchery office and laugh with each other as like they were laughing in the face of authority. Normally I would have turned them in but, I'm tired of doing the police work for the MDC cops. If I would report all the wrong doing I see going on, I would spend more time at the office than on the stream. The MDC needs more plain clothes CO's on the water to see all this stuff going on. Rich

Pat, If you are trying to send me a PM it ain't working. I get the quote and previous PM's and thats all. Rich

Pat, I bought a Rockwood 1980 10ft Pop-up. Its pretty nice to me. Power lifting system,A/C,heat,heated bed mattresses,1 piece door,bbq grill that attaches to outside, awning, 3-way fridge. I didn't want anything too big for my dinky underpowered 4.0 Ranger. It should do me pretty well. I looked around for a deal on a used one but finally caved in and bought a new one. I go Friday to pick it up and maybe head down to Bennett or Montauk. As soon as I get it I'll take a few pics. I'm back in Hannibal MO till Thursday on a job and I head home that night. Talk at ya soon, Rich

I didn't go so I can't tell you too much. Maybe next week after I pick up my new pop-up camper I'll get back to you on my report.

Anyone headed down this weekend? I've been in Hannibal all week slaving like a dog and I decided I need to go fishing. Rich

Pat, Although I think that would be a great idea, we both know it would never happen. Too many people fish the hole just above the Holland that keep fish for that to ever happen. I wouldn't mind if they just did it for a couple of years just until the hatchery system recovers. Bennett has been the same way since I was old enough to remember and it'll probably stay that way till I'm gone. The only people complaining are the people that can't figure out how to adapt to the fishing techniques that are required now. I'm no expert and I've made adjustments and have been pretty successful. There are a few things that could be done but, it would never happen. The way things are now seems to keep most people happy so I'll just stick with what we have. Rich

Hey Pat, How ya been? That new rod didn't really help me catch all those fish other than a way to land them. But it sure makes it more enjoyable. You don't have to keep up with me, I just got some stupid money I guess. LOL I've been wanting another 3wt since I got rid of my Sage XP 386-4. So I finally went all out and bought a Winston BIIt 7'6" and an Abel Super 2 reel to go along with it. Yeah I know... I'm just plain crazy. Next time you get down I'll let you sling it around a little. Man its a sweet casting rod. It seems like Bennett has been having its issues with people swimming in the stream and stuff too. Someone told me that they closed the pool so maybe thats the reason. Who knows. Last Saturday I was real close to doing some wet wading myself. Give me a yell when you are ready to get back down to Bennett or Montauk.314-750-1782..thats my cell number. Rich

Hey Folks, I fished this past weekend also. I didn't make the buzzer Saturday morning though. Saturday from about 9:30am till the eve whistle I am pretty sure I caught close to 30 fish. I messed around with different patterns most of the day trying things to see what worked best. The water to me was really cloudy in Zone 2 but, not as bad in Zone 1. The flow is good and there seemed to be about the same amount of fish as the last trip a couple of weeks ago. Sunday morning from the whistle to about 8:30am I pretty much killed them. I literally caught a fish on about every single drift. I gave my new 3wt Winston a pretty good workout. I went to eat breakfast and returned and caught fish but didn't set the world on fire. I think I caught close to 15 fish from then till about 4:30 when they really started to bite again. That afternoon between stripping a crackleback on sinking line and drifting other flies I caught another 35-40 fish. I landed a nice rainbow in water shallow enough that I should have seen the fish but I didn't. The water was fast and my drift was short but, the fish were there and you just couldn't see them. It turned out to be a football shaped kyped jawed male close to 3lbs and close to 18" long. Is the fishing as good as it was a couple years ago??? Probably not. But, figure in the circumstances that they have had to deal with and its not all that bad. You really have to change your tactics compared to how it was 2 years ago. There is not the numbers of fish in the stream as there was a couple of years ago and we all know why. But, there are still plenty of fish there. You just can't see them like we got used to when the water was low and clear. The stream bed has changed along with less vegatation. I took this as a challenge after I accepted that this is how its going to be for a couple of years to come. I think that the over abundance of trout in a smaller amount water spoiled us. I like fishing Montauk as much or more than Bennett but, Bennett has way better facilities and more stuff close by if needed. I'll continue to fish both places. Cyaaa'll later, Rich

Hey Folks, I'm down here at Bennett and sitting in the motel. So I decided to do a quick report. The stream is just a little high right now and just a tad bit cloudy. Flow is pretty good too. I didn't get here until 1:30pm to start fishing. When I arrived the crowd looked to be somewhat sparse at first. I went up to fish just above the gauge house with a midge under a small Palsa float. I immediately started to catch fish as long as I got a good drift. I didn't notice if they put more fish in the stream but, this trip I actually had fish under my feet for the first time this season. I then decided to change up fly patterns. I changed 4 or 5 times with success on all my usual patterns. By 4:30pm I had caught 17 fish. I went down to fish above the dam in deeper water with a full sink line to see how that would work out. The first 5 straight casts with a fish landed. Nothing with any real size but, I caught a ton of fish there. I fished with the full sink line till 8:15 and decided to call it a day. I landed 23 fish and lost probably another 10 before I got them to hand. All in all I had a great day even though the crowd ended up to be pretty good size. I am staying down to fish Sunday also so I'll give you all a report Sunday night or Monday when I get back home. Take Care, Rich

PC, I plan on hitting Bennett Sunday, if you want to go I'll buy you lunch at Ollies. I may also take a day off next week sometime and go down too. I've been wanting to go down for a couple weeks now and you being unemployed now just gives me a reason to go down and share my lack of wealth. Maybe you can give me some pointers on how you fish Bennett to boot. Let me know, Rich

Hey Guys, I was down Sunday and the stream and area have been somewhat cleaned up. There are some trees still laying in the stream here and there though. There is a pretty big tree laying across the stream right below the spring just around the corner. From there on down to the spillway there is 1 more tree I believe in the area below the first small parking spot on the spring road. Fishing was decent in the morning but, really came to life in the late aftrenoon and evening. An awsome caddis hatch led to some great dry fly fishing. You had to have on the correct size and color though or you would not hookup. I found myself alone in the late eve when I looked around after catching a bunch of fish. 3 deer actually crossed the stream about 10 yds from me while I was fishing. You would never have that type of experience at Bennett. I'm thinking about hitting Montauk again this coming weekend on my way home from West Plains after the races. Take care yaaalll, Rich